Wholesale Rooibos

01.
A Bit of Botany

a little botanical information on rooibos

description
Aspalathus linearis Rooibos is a compact, shrubby plant with dense clusters of long, upright, needle-like, branched green leaves that turn red when allowed to ferment. The plant is a hermaphrodite, meaning it has both male and female organs.

common names & nomenclature
Red tea, red bush tea, South African red tea, rooibostee, bossietee.

02.
Cultivation & Harvesting

considerations for growing and harvesting rooibos

growing and harvesting
Rooibos is a nitrogen-fixing plant that thrives in loamy or sandy, acidic or neutral, well-drained soil. It is tolerant of drought but cannot grow in shade. USDA hardiness zones 8-11.

03.
The Rest of the Story

rooibos history, folklore, literature & more

Rooibos, which translates to "red bush" in Afrikaans, has been harvested and cultivated for centuries by the Bushmen and Hottentots of South Africa, the only country in the world that produces the plant on a commercial scale. Although it is traditionally prepared as tea, rooibos is not a true tea (Camellia sinensis) but is a member of the pea family. Over the last few decades, rooibos has gained in popularity in Europe and the U.S. as a tea and as a food additive and coloring agent in extract powder form. It is also valued as a supplement due to its impressive nutritional profile.

The rooibos plant is abundant in several antioxidant compounds, including aspalathin, a flavonoid that has demonstrated positive effects on insulin resistance, vascular inflammation and hypertension. Another phytochemical present, superoxide dismutase enzyme, is known to isolate and dismantle circulating free radicals into ordinary molecular oxygen and hydrogen peroxide.

04.
Where in the World

habitat and range for rooibos

Rooibos is endemic to the dry, mountainous areas of the Cederberg region of the Western Cape province of South Africa.